Clinical and functional correlates of processing speed in pediatric Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis

It is well established that processing speed is negatively impacted in children and adolescents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Unfortunately, exactly how processing speed vulnerabilities manifest in daily functioning has not been well established. To support clinical care of youth with ADHD, it is important to better understand the functional consequences and relevant outcomes associated with processing speed deficits. This systematic review and meta-analysis sought to identify the association between processing speed and clinical or functional correlates among children or adolescents diagnosed with ADHD. A total of 409 abstracts were screened, of which, 60 full-text articles were identified as potentially relevant, and 8 of these studies met inclusion criteria. Domains evaluated across these studies included reading skills, mathematics skills, written expression, anxiety, self-appraisals of competence, and adaptive functioning. Six studies reported an association between processing speed and reading skills, allowing for meta-analysis. Processing speed difficulties among youth with ADHD appear strongly associated with several clinical and functional correlates including weaker academic skills, poorer adaptive skills, increased self-reported anxiety, and overestimates of social competence. Meta-analytic results for studies reporting the association between processing speed and reading skills indicate a medium overall weighted mean effect size (r = 0.33, 95% CI = 0.28 –0.39) with minimal heterogeneity (I² = 0.17). Clinical implications of these findings, limitations in the current knowledge base, and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Global Mental Health: A Call for Increased Awareness and Action for Family Therapists

Global mental health (GMH) is an emerging field that focuses on the need for culturally sensitive mental health services in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs). While many new initiatives have been established worldwide to understand GMH needs and to provide care in LMICs, family therapists have primarily worked with families in high‐income countries. The few existing family‐based initiatives in GMH focus on psychoeducation and are typically not based on general systems theory. However, emerging trends in family therapy may enable family therapists to impact mental health issues in LMICs. These trends, which are shared interests of both family therapy and GMH, include collaborative care, a growing emphasis on the importance of culture in understanding and treating mental health issues, recognition of the ability of families to support or impede recovery from mental illness, and the use of strength‐based and evidence‐based treatments. This paper describes ways for family therapists to become active in the GMH community.     

Spirituality/Religiosity (SpR), Leisure-Time Physical Activity,and Sedentary Behaviour in Students at a Catholic University

Some studies have found an association between spirituality and/or religiosity (SpR) and cardiovascular health, for reasons which remain unclear. This study explores whether SpR is linked to physical activity whilst young, which in turn is linked to long-term cardiovascular health. Students at a Catholic University in Australia completed a survey combining the SpREUK-P SF 17 SpR questionnaire with elements of the long-form 7-day recall International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Respondents who scored highly in the unconventional spiritual practices components of SpREUK-P engaged in moderate intensity physical activity more frequently. This finding may have implications for health promotion.     

Mindfulness,physical impairment and psychological well-being in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Objective: Mindfulness is the process of actively making new distinctions, rather than relying on habitual or automatic categorisations from the past. Mindfulness has been positively associated with physical well-being, better recovery rates from disease or infections, pain reduction and overall quality of life (QOL). Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a rare, progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disease, clinically characterised by progressively increasing weakness leading to death, usually within five years. There is presently no cure for ALS, and it is considered one of the most genetically and biologically driven illnesses. Thus far, the aims of psychological studies on ALS have focused on understanding patient – and, to a lesser extent, caregiver – QOL and psychological well-being. No previous study has investigated the influence of psychological factors on ALS.

Methods: A sample of 197 subjects with ALS were recruited and assessed online twice, with a duration of four months between the two assessments. Assessments included measurements of trait mindfulness, physical impairment, QOL, anxiety and depression. The influence of mindfulness as predictor of changes in physical impairments was evaluated with a mixed-effects model.

Results: Mindfulness positively influenced the change of physical symptoms. Subjects with higher mindfulness experienced a slower progression of the disease after four months. Moreover, mindfulness at first assessment predicted higher QOL and psychological well-being.

Conclusions: The available data indicate that a psychological construct – mindfulness – can attenuate the progress of a disease that is believed to be almost solely biologically driven. The potential implications of these results extend well beyond ALS.     

Executive control in the Simon task: A dual-task examination of response priming and its suppression

Executive control processes are supposed to regulate behaviour and to resolve conflicts in information processing. Recently, Stürmer and colleagues (Stürmer et al., 2002; Stürmer & Leuthold, 2003) reported electrophysiological findings in a Simon task that indicated control over a location-based processing route that mediates response priming. Importantly, when a response conflict occurred on a given trial, a suppression of response priming on the immediately following trial was demonstrated. The present study examines boundary conditions of such control in the Simon paradigm by comparing single-task with dual-task performance. In four experiments a second task, alternating trial-by-trial with the Simon task, was systematically manipulated in its control demands. Whereas reaction time (RT) analysis of single-task conditions revealed the absence of location-based response priming in the Simon task, such priming reappeared when the second task required an overt response. In contrast, working memory load as such did not touch the Simon effect. Therefore, not the response conflict itself but capacity-limited response monitoring processes seem to be critical for executive control in the Simon task and the suppression of response priming.     

Religion and Spirituality in Lonely Planet's India

For years, the authors of the best-selling guide to India, Lonely Planet, has shaped the perspectives of many travellers. This article considers how religion is constructed as a category and how it is made relevant to travellers. I argue that ‘religion’ comes in two versions, one pertaining to the Indian hosts and one to travellers. Religion is based on tradition, faith and historical institutions, whose members, rituals and sacred sites are of interest to travellers. Spirituality has to do with the personal development of travellers and is exclusively referred to as philosophy.     

Reducing Youth Access to Alcohol: Findings from a Community-Based Randomized Trial

Underage drinking continues to be an important public health problem and a challenge to the substance abuse prevention field. Community-based interventions designed to more rigorously control underage access to alcohol through retailer education and greater enforcement of underage drinking laws have been advocated as potentially effective strategies to help address this problem, but studies designed to evaluate such interventions are sparse. To address this issue we conducted a randomized trial involving 36 communities to test the combined effectiveness of five interrelated intervention components designed to reduce underage access to alcohol. The intervention was found to be effective in reducing the likelihood that retail clerks would sell alcohol to underage-looking buyers, but did not reduce underage drinking or the perceived availability of alcohol among high school students. Post hoc analyses, however, revealed significant associations between the level of underage drinking law enforcement in the intervention communities and reductions in both 30-day use of alcohol and binge drinking. The findings highlight the difficulty in reducing youth drinking even when efforts to curtail retail access are successful. Study findings also suggest that high intensity implementation of underage drinking law enforcement can reduce underage drinking. Any such effects of enhanced enforcement on underage drinking appear to be more directly attributable to an increase in perceived likelihood of enforcement and the resultant perceived inconveniences and/or sanctions to potential drinkers, than to a reduction in access to alcohol per se.     

The Positive Aspects of Being the Parent of an LGBTQ Child

Parenting an LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer) identified child presents unique opportunities for growth and development. This study focused on self‐reported perceptions of the positive aspects of being the parent of an LGBTQ child. Participants (N = 142) were mothers (83.8%) and fathers (16.2%) of LGBTQ identified individuals who responded to an open‐ended online survey. Thematic analysis revealed five primary themes: Personal Growth (open mindedness, new perspectives, awareness of discrimination, and compassion), Positive Emotions (pride and unconditional love), Activism, Social Connection, and Closer Relationships (closer to child and family closeness). The practice implications of these findings for supporting parents in envisioning positive relationship outcomes for themselves and their children are highlighted in the discussion.     

Psychometrics and Validity of the Dutch Experiences in Close Relationships–Revised (ECR–r) in an Outpatient Mental Health Sample

The Experiences in Close Relationships–Revised (ECR–r) is a self-report instrument to assess adult attachment style that seems to have appropriate psychometric qualities. The ECR–r has been most widely studied in student and community samples. In this study we report factor structure, reliability, and construct validity of the Dutch translation of the ECR–r in an outpatient mental health sample (N = 262). The original factor structure could satisfactorily be replicated, the reliability of the ECR–r was also stable over time, and there was good evidence for its construct validity.